Madam Malkin was the owner of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. She was a squat witch dressed all in mauve who was very friendly, unless anyone displayed signs of aggression in her shop.

In early 1992, Madam Malkin went to Paris for the Which Witch? fashion show, and left her shop closed with a notice outside.

Etymology

The name "Malkin" may be derived from "Malkin Tower" which was a key element in the Pendle Witches trial.[3]

Graymalkin was the name of a cat that belonged to one of the three witches (the Weird Sisters) in William Shakespeare's Macbeth.[4]

A malkin is also an old name for a scarecrow, dressed to frighten away birds. Malkin-trash was someone who was poorly or frighteningly dressed.[5]

It could also be of early medieval English origin, deriving from a female given name first recorded as "Malkyn" in 1297, a diminutive form of "Malle", itself a nickname form of "Mary". To Malle has been added the diminutive suffix "kyn or kin", meaning "close relative of". "Mary" was an extremely popular medieval female given name, being the claimed name of the mother of Christ in the New Testament. The original name is thought to have been derived from the Aramaic "Maryan", translating as the "wished-for-child", but others claim that it means "the star of the sea".[6]